By Jacqueline Uranga, staff writer

The California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) is a test most students take their sophomore year. But new district-wide changes will begin the preparation freshman year.

The “mock CAHSEE” was originally created in a Santa Ana school district in Southern California to identify students who needed extra help preparing for the state exit exam.

The same test is being implemented in this district for the same purpose.

The mock exit exam was first used this fall to test sophomores.

“We had to miss class and it was hard for those of us who had classes that weren’t all sophomore classes,” said sophomore Ellen Perfect.

In classes spanning multiple grade levels, teachers conducted class with all sophomores absent on the day of the mock CAHSEE and those sophomores had to make up the work they missed.

In the 2011-2012 school year, all freshmen will take the mock CAHSEE on the same day that sophomores take the official CAHSEE.

The majority of Cal High students who take the official CAHSEE earn a passing score.

“Ninety-eight percent of students pass the CAHSEE the first time they take it,” said English department head Donna Montague, who works with students who need help with the English portion of the CAHSEE.

But the scores from the mock exit exam  have so far been lower in all subjects than on the real CAHSEE.

On the mock CAHSEE, the passing rate was 93 percent for English and 90 percent for math.

The mock exam takes questions from the official test used in previous years, but tends to select the more difficult questions.

The difficulty of questions likely contributes to the disparity between passing rates of the mock CAHSEE and the official test.

The testing environment of the mock CAHSEE may also influence the results.

Sophomores described the testing environment while taking the mock CAHSEE as less strict than that of official tests.

“Everybody was talking to each other and cheating,” said sophomore Jennifer Livschitz.

STAR test scores and student grades, used in previous years to identify if a student is in need of exit exam intervention prior to the official test, will continue to be used along with the mock CAHSEE.

CAHSEE intervention is extra tutoring in English and/or math.

It has most commonly been used to help students who do not pass the test the first time they take it sophomore year.

This often includes students who move from a different school district and foreign exchange students who intend to graduate from Cal.

There is $50,000 available through the district for high schools to use for CAHSEE help. Much of the money is used for math lab and tutorial tutoring of students prior to the exam.

This is the first year that CAHSEE intervention is being used to help some students who did pass the mock CAHSEE.

Some sophomores with a score of basic on the mock exit exam (the lowest score needed to pass) are receiving tutoring this year as the school aims to increase CAHSEE scores overall.

Between 60 and 100 students are involved in the CAHSEE intervention program this year.

Though it is not mandatory for any student to receive this help for the CAHSEE, it is a resource that a growing number of students are taking advantage of.